Change happens one small step at a time. If you do something good for yourself each and every day, you’ll be amazed at where you soon find yourself. Every decision makes a difference. Every moment is a fresh chance to change the direction of where your future is currently heading.
So when I was diagnosed with cancer four years back now, I decided the first thing that needed to change was my focus on health. I was overweight and had been working far too hard for the past 15 years and not taking good enough care of my body since we had returned from Belize. That much was pretty obvious by the cancer diagnosis. I was dis-eased. My body was not happy with me.
So I started. Literally, one step at a time. I started walking on a treadmill for 60 minutes a day because I had been told to lose 10 – 20 pounds before my surgery. Four years later, I am running 10K every morning, five days a week and have incorporated strength training and swimming into my weekly fitness regime. I weigh 50 pounds less than I did four years ago. At one point, I was 60 pounds down but strength training increased my weight back up to my current level. I can honestly say I have not felt this healthy in 35 years. I am strong. My body has reacted nicely to my routines. I can easily run the 10K daily. And every day that I complete the run, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I love being in my body now.
During that process, we also switched to a plant based diet and we both enjoy it. I know I could explore it further but Yim is fine with where we are currently. I would prefer to be even more aware of what we eat… I know that will gradually happen.
So here’s my daily routine at this point. In winter, it differs slightly during summer or winter…
I wake up and shower. I make tea or coffee for both of us and then do morning stretches on the back deck for a half hour just taking in the day and listening to the sounds of the world and feeling grateful. I find that clearing my mind and simply appreciating our backyard and all the life and beauty it provides brings me a sense of peace and I am loving that time. In the winter, I miss that part of the day and am confined to having coffee while reading the Globe and Mail usually… winters are not as easy for me and Yim and I have been talking about how we will remedy that in the coming years.
Then I set about my daily fitness regime. Remember that Yim has a busy active schedule as well – Monday she has Ballet, Tuesday is Salsa, Wednesday she usually practices, Thursday she teaches Zumba and takes Ballet, Saturday she teaches Zumba and Sunday she takes a Burlesque class, so on most days, we are both committed to a similar wellness routine.
Exercise, to me now, is a way to maintain my body. It has become more a form of self-care and a lifestyle.
Here is my weekly routine;
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Mornings – Run 10K. Running has become a place for me to think. It’s a ninety minute period every morning where I get to sort through thoughts while exercising my body. I spend it with myself and my inner world. I think about things. I work out problems. I process. I get to tune in to where I am in my heart and mind and yes, that may sound spiritual but for me, that’s what my daily regime has become. My thought process has changed since my Cancer. Life’s meaning has changed for me. Different things matter now. It allows me to center myself and recognize how taking care of my body allows me to live a better life.
Each day, after my run, I shower and then meet Yim in the kitchen, where we each normally make a smoothie for lunch and talk about our mornings and what we have planned for the afternoons. My afternoons are fairly easy. I head to the gym for an hour or so. I have set strict routines for myself because I like how I feel and I want to maintain that now. After the gym, the afternoons are free, which usually means a bit of grocery shopping, work around the house then prepping for dinner.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday Afternoons – Strength Training. Vertical Press – 3 sets of 65 pounds. Pec Flys – 3 sets of 35 pounds. Lat Pull Downs – 3 sets of 80 pounds. Tricep PullDowns – 3 sets of 60 pounds. Bench press – 3 sets of 55 pounds. Seated Row – 3 sets of 70 pounds. Bicep Curls – 3 sets of 20 pounds. Ab Crunches – 3 sets of 35. Oblique Twists – 3 sets of 25.
Muscle-strengthening activities like lifting weights help increase or maintain muscle mass and strength. This is important for older adults who experience reduced muscle mass and muscle strength with aging. Slowly increasing the amount of weight and number of repetitions you do as part of muscle strengthening activities will give you even more benefits, no matter your age. I certainly didn’t start at the weights shown above but I have found that I am fine with where I am at now. I don’t want to be big. I want to be lean and strong.
Tuesday and Thursday Afternoons – Core Exercises. Pull Ups – 3 sets of 25. Stretch – 60 seconds. Scissor Kicks – 3 sets of 75. Stretch – 60 seconds. Russian Twists – 3 sets of 50 with 20 pounds. Stretch – 60 seconds. Reverse Crunches – 3 sets of 25. Stretch – 60 seconds. Ab Roller – 3 sets of 25 . Stretch – 60 seconds.
Core exercises train the muscles in your core to work in harmony. This improves balance and stability. Other benefits include injury prevention, reduction of back pain, improved lifting mechanics, balance, stability, and posture, as well as improved athletic performance. They are hard work to start but the benefits are worth it, if only if that benefit is to be able to not wear a t-shirt in the summer and feel good about it.
It is necessary at this point to also give a shout out to Chris Grolla and the entire staff at MVMT Gym in Collingwood. Chris worked with me to craft a routine to help me build tone and strength and over the past year, the entire staff has provided me with the direction and support I needed to continue becoming a stronger and healthier version of myself.
Tuesday and Thursday Evenings – Swim 1 mile – Freestyle – Arms Only – 84 laps. Swimming is good for my soul. About eighteen months ago, when the Doctor told me I needed shoulder surgery, I opted to begin strength training and swimming. The first few weeks I could only swim a half mile but pretty soon, the muscle memory kicked back in and ever since I’ve been swimming a mile twice a week, however, three months ago I switched to Freestyle, which is a much cleaner stroke and I’ve been fine. I swim with a pullboy tucked between my legs so I only use my shoulders and arms and core, not my legs for propulsion. It’s a pure pulling exercise.
A foam pull buoy helps you train your upper body. This figure-eight-shaped piece of foam is placed between your legs and adds buoyancy to your lower body. This added buoyancy means you do not need to kick as much as you usually do, and your hips and legs will not sink.
Because you don’t have to worry about kicking, you can focus entirely on using your arms to propel yourself through the water. This creates a challenging workout for your upper body and allows you to develop strength and endurance. A pull buoy also allows you to swim more slowly. The additional float you receive from using this piece of equipment means you do not need to swim fast in order to keep your body elevated in the water. Swimming slowly lets you work on your mechanics in a methodical way so you can fine-tune your technique.
This week when I got out of the water, one of the Lifeguards walked over and told me I had a beautiful stroke technique and the pullboy is why.
Time in the water has a unique ability to drown out any stress and allows me time to focus on the here-and-now. Swimming allows me to remember the days I spent teaching scuba diving and swimming above barrier reefs twenty-five miles from shore. Swimming brings me peace.
Adhering to these routines allows me to exercise my intention and strengthen my resolve. Not only do I make my workouts daily, but each workout is a test of my will to a small degree. I have to decide to make the time each day to do the work if I want the results and I try not to let myself down. Over the past few years, I’ve come up against exercises that I wasn’t sure I could do, but I found it within myself and that gives me a sense of accomplishment.
Not only I am healthier but my shoulder no longer hurts and I certainly no longer require shoulder surgery.
Each day when I complete my routines, I feel a sense of satisfaction within myself. More importantly, I am maintaining my fitness because it helps me be happy and feel alive and as a result of my physical conditioning, I make other healthy decisions.
My fitness is now part of the foundation of a healthy lifestyle and the practice of living a healthy life. I have surprised myself, pleasantly, with what I have been capable of. I am doing things I did forty years ago. I push myself further than I did forty years ago.
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